Utility workers toil in the cold

Scott Hilyard

Tuesday

Dec 23, 2008 at 12:01 AMDec 23, 2008 at 10:19 PM

Under the influence of a frigid and bone-wearying 16-hour shift, Dave King stood at the ice-encrusted corner of Seneca Place and Wisconsin Avenue during the noon hour Monday, stuck a cigarette in his mouth and watched co-worker Jamie Baumgardner shimmy down a power pole. He was asked if he was tired.

Under the influence of a frigid and bone-wearying 16-hour shift, Dave King stood at the ice-encrusted corner of Seneca Place and Wisconsin Avenue during the noon hour Monday, stuck a cigarette in his mouth and watched co-worker Jamie Baumgardner shimmy down a power pole. He was asked if he was tired.

"No time to be tired," said King, a temporary shift supervisor for AmerenCILCO pressed into service by the recent run of arctic weather.

His crew replaced a pole at the Peoria intersection, the top of which snapped off from the weight of ice from last week's ice storm, the effects of which have lingered into Christmas week.

King was one of almost 1,500 Ameren Illinois Utilities line workers scattered across central Illinois Monday, working 16-hour shifts and still toiling to get electrical service restored to thousands of customers after a weekend of troublesome weather.

The problem Thursday and Friday was 1/2-inch to 3/4 inch thick ice that coated and felled power lines and tree branches that crashed onto power lines. Sunday the problem was all that with 20 to 30 miles per hour winds abetting the misery.

At the peak of the ice storm, 45,000 Ameren customers were without service on Friday, 90 percent of whom had power restored by Saturday. But that number bounced back to about 14,100 when the winds increased on Sunday and single-digit high temperatures kept central Illinois encased in thick ice on Monday and caused fresh power outages.

"Ice coated branches have been slowly cracking since late last week. Then suddenly there is nothing holding them together and they fall," said Leigh Morris, an Ameren spokesman. "Power lines will continue to be vulnerable until the ice is gone."

That might take some time. Snow is in the forecast Tuesday, Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, with total accumulations of 1 to 3 inches, according to the National Weather Service in Lincoln. The best chance for substantial melting is Friday with rain in the forecast and temperatures climbing into the 40s.

Tuesday's snow, however, should not add to the problems of the electrical grid.

The high and gusty winds Sunday created an unusual utility phenomenon known as "galloping conductors."

"The ice changes the shape of the line and when the winds start blowing they don't just sway like they would without ice, but they bounce violently up and down and not all at the same time," Morris said. "It's a very destructive event."

Scott Hilyard can be reached at (309) 686-3244 or at shilyard@pjstar.com.

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